By Debayan Mukherjee,
AIFF Media Team

RIFFA: Fast cars, sky scrapers, snazzy locales, The Bahrain Grand Prix, its jaw-dropping International Circuit in Sakhir…and football!

Both on and off the field.

“It’s football time in Bahrain,” Abdulla Brlla, the Goalkeeping Coach of the Bahrain Women’s National Team exclaimed smiling.

Bahrain are in Group C alongwith Vietnam, Hong Kong and Krygyzstan. They play all of their group engagements at the picturesque National Stadium in Riffa. Riffa is the second largest city of Bahrain.

On the eve of their first Friendly, National Coach Anadi Barua said: Bahrain are a good side. They will be playing at home, which adds to their advantage. But I am loking at it in a different way. We will be playing Palestine in their own den too. Myanmar and Chinese Taipei won’t be pushovers too by any stretch of imagination. So tough Friendlies will toughen the girls and help me assess each and every one better.

Senior most player in the side Oinam Bembem Devi stressed on the importance of the AFC Cup Qualifiers.

Bembem Devi, who led India to glory in the 2012 SAFF Women’s Championships in Colombo, was not a part of the Team which beat the Combined Dutch Team in an Exhibition Match in Navi Mumbai this January. But the former India Captain will be a key figure in India’s surge to qualify for the AFC Asian Cup next year.

“It’s a great feeling to lead the Indian National Team. At the same time you are given lot of responsibilities as well. Expectations rest on you. You have to deliver and I am fully focused on that. We have to get a positive result this time in the Qualifiers,” Goon quipped.

The Indian Team rehearsed under floodlights at the Football Stadium for an hour.

<span >Match starts 8:30 PM IST.